Etsy Vintage Seller Encyclopedia

Monday, July 23, 2018

I have... I cannot say that it is worth $20/month for me. The discounted subscription fee of $10/ month until the end of 2017 is reasonable... With a cost to my shop of $2/month with the credits, it is worth a try.

The banner features are of questionable value. But hey, why not try them out, right?

I already purchased my domain name (for this blog in fact). So I am not in need of that feature.

Restock request

I am most interested in the restock request. According to Etsy's promotional information, "When an item sells out, shoppers can sign up to be automatically alerted when it’s back in stock. See which sold out listings are most popular so you can plan your inventory."

So a potential customer can find out when I restock something they are interested in? Sounds interesting.

To see how it should work, go to my sold items and select an item. There is an orange button to "Let me know when it's back". "We'll send you an email when this item is back in stock."

Restock request as seen on the item sold page

Restock request setup

First let us set it up. It is easy using the bulk editing tool. In your Shop Manager, go to your "listings" page. Click the "select all" button in the top left corner. (Click a second time to select everything in your shop if you like.)

The "Editing Options" box un-grays and you can select from some options that drop down. One is "Edit restock request option for listing." Select "yes" and "apply." Voila, done!

(You will want to do this for your sold items as well.)

Setting up the restock request in your sold items using Etsy's bulk editor

Using restock request

Now comes the coolness. Go back to your Shop Manager, listings page.

On each listing you will now see a little counter for each listing (Restock requests: 0). The best part? You can filter the listings in order of restock requests: high to low.

You can look to see which items to source because shoppers have indicated an interest.

It is simple to view how many items have restock requests

Important note

For the restock notice to go out, you will need to renew the sold listing rather than make a new listing.

Follow up

My shop has yet to receive a real restock request. Sellers have this trial period from now until the end of the year. That will be enough to tell me if this feature is alone worth the price.

It is possible that like some other features, Etsy Plus is better suited to handmade shops. Time will tell... I will let you know here!

First, if you are happy with how your shop is now, you do not need to do anything... everything is the same, except there will be a 1.5% increase in the sold item fee (up from 3.5% to 5%).

Folded into this announcement are details about new seller packages. One in particular may be of interest. The details from Etsy's information:

Etsy Plus (coming in July)

New ways to customize your shop

Sellers will be able to customize special options for their shop's look with new banner templates and featured listing options.

Tell shoppers your items are back in stock

When shoppers are interested in sold out items, Etsy Plus subscribers will be able to email them when the item is back in stock. Sellers can find out which listings are most popular. Could this be helpful in planning your vintage buying?

Send customers to your own web address

Save 50% on a custom .com address or get a .store address for free for a year. Some sellers may find this helpful.

**Bonus listing and advertising credits**

Get 15 listing credits and $5 in credit to advertise your items in Etsy search with Promoted Listings each month.

Discounts on custom packaging and promotional materials*

Enrolled sellers receive a special discount on custom shipping boxes, business cards, and other marketing materials from Etsy's partners.

If you use Promoted Listings

Etsy sellers who advertise may have even more of a reason to try out the "Etsy Plus" tiered upgrade at low cost; it is the "bonus listing and advertising credits."

The breakdown:

15 listing credits per month x 20 cents each = $3

$5 in credit to advertise your items (I spend over $30/month) = $5

That means that for the $10/month you pay for Etsy Plus at the introductory rate, it will cost only $2/month to try out.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Recent events have prompted an interest in privacy policies. The European Union has enacted new rules in that arena called the "General Data Protection Regulation" or GDPR. It takes effect on May 25, 2018.

Do small sellers really have to do this? Here is a hint: basic identity data like names and addresses are included under these new regulations.

Who needs to have a privacy policy in place?

This is what Etsy says:

"If you’re a seller based in the European Union or you offer your listings to buyers there, the GDPR applies to you, which means you’re required to have a privacy policy for your shop. Many other countries have also adopted data protection laws similar to the GDPR, so whether or not you sell to Europe, we recommend that all sellers create a privacy policy."

So privacy policy is recommended for all Etsy sellers.

If you use Etsy's so-called "canned" policies template (I do) your privacy policy will display as a link. For others, it will be a paragraph added.

How to do it

Here is one very simple sample privacy policy for those who only ship within the USA:

"We only use customer information to fulfill orders. We do not store or use customer information for any other purpose. Information such as name, address, and email address is not stored on our computers. If and when required, we will communicate with you about your order status using the Etsy platform."

Here is a longer one:

"ETSY is an online marketplace made up of over 1 million individual shops. The information you provide to Etsy for transaction purposes is governed and stored by Etsy. As a seller on Etsy, I am bound to their policies. If you have questions relating to the way Etsy uses your information, please refer to the Etsy Privacy Policy here: https://www.etsy.com/legal/privacy.

"We only use customer information to fulfill orders. Your personal information (name and address) as provided to me by Etsy will only be used by me as needed to provide my services. I may use your information to fulfil your order, to settle disputes, or to provide customer support. I may collect, use, retain, and share your information if I have a good faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to legal process or to government requests (i.e. taxes) (b) enforce my agreements, terms and policies; (c) prevent, investigate, and address fraud and other illegal activity, security, or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property, and safety of my customers or others. If and when required, we will communicate with you about your order status using the Etsy “convo” platform.

To adjust shop policies, go to your public shop page. Find the orange "Edit shop" button. (It is right under your shop's star rating next to your shop avatar.) Scroll down, down, down to where it says "shop policies" on the left side. Opposite that, on the right side, is the button to edit your shop policies.

There are some unknowns in this process. For example, the EU law requires that companies provide a "reasonable" level of protection for personal data. But it does not specify exactly what “reasonable” means.

Time will tell how this shakes out. In the mean time, Etsy sellers should consider adopting a written privacy policy as a start. That includes sellers (like myself) who limit their selling to the USA.

Those who sell in the European Union will need privacy policies beyond the scope of this blog post. (Thanks for noting that this blog post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice.) Here is a blog post with more information.

Concerns over privacy policies have changed the landscape of online selling. It is wise for sellers to do their homework.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

The algorithm

Etsy's search algorithm is transitioning into a completely new animal. The days of meticulously matching up phrases in your tags and titles for guaranteed Etsy relevancy will soon be past. Etsy is in the process making search more human... The old way of search was not natural, the necessity to laboriously match titles and tags.

Etsy's algorithm is in flux

Compliments of Etsy seller Deborah McGregor:

"SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

It does not mean “Match Words Up"

In a nutshell, Etsy has leveled the playing field for sellers.

The algorithm just does not like me...

An algorithm does not "do" anything of its own initiative. It is only a middleman. Its job is to find common factors between a search query and the information on your listing page. It serves up results (called
Search Engine Results Pages, or SERPs) based on common denominators... The more commonalities, the higher the item places. The algorithm does its job according to what its code tells it to do. No emotions are involved.

The order of search results is what has changed. In fact, the order changes from search to search on Etsy now.

How do I even know where I place in search results?

Etsy seller CindyLou says that it is now impossible to even do test searches because of contextualization and personalization: every searcher will see something different.

You can ask someone else to search, but there is no guarantee that what they see is what someone else will see, either. Remember that in 2018, search is changing all the time, so search placement can vary by a lot even repeating the same search.

The best way to "see" how you are doing is to use your shop stats.

Where is Etsy's search heading?

Machine learning takes time

Google's driverless cars and Etsy's search have something in common. They are both being driven by machine learning, or so-called artificial intelligence. Both are going somewhere.

But of course the technology is new. There are some unknowns, some unintended consequences.

I believe that things will get better. But the process of machine learning will take time (some say as long as two years). In the mean time, mistakes may be made. Mistakes that could discourage sellers if they fail to see these changes in the long run, as "training" the new algorithm.

Etsy sellers have been accustomed to doing a lot of tweaking. Sellers routinely made changes to listings to make sure of word-matching, which is how Etsy's search worked in the past.

The goal of the new search algorithm is to show the best, most relevant listings to buyers. It is designed to do that without the need to constantly adjust listings. Won't that be a relief? As mentioned, the days of matchy-matchy titles and tags are fading. This is because the new algorithm is smarter than that. Or it will be, eventually.

Vintage selling

Vintage sellers continue to complain about being the proverbial red-headed child. I try not to have any big expectations that things will change for vintage on Etsy. It is what it is and has been since the beginning... Vintage seems to be tolerated, but Etsy is primarily a handmade "creative" site.

I can deal with that. If it is working, fine. If I am not selling, then I try to figure out why and deal with the issue.

Please note

I make a number of observations here. If your shop is selling just fine, there is no need to change anything.

Make any changes slowly. Check for effectiveness in your case.

Conclusion

Etsy is in flux. Search is rife with change. 2018 may be the year to "wait and see."

Thursday, March 29, 2018

In the mid-1980's I worked at a major chain garden center. (Ever heard of Flower Time or Frank's Nursery and Crafts?)

I remember when SKU (stock keeping unit) numbers arrived there... the cashiers hated them, as they had to enter a whole string of numbers rather than just the price. But inventory became much more accurate.

SKU numbers have come a long way since then... In fact, Etsy has recently added searchable SKU numbers. Have you harnessed their power in your shop yet?

Another quick trick for your vintage shop

We might brush it aside and tell ourselves it is more for bar codes and big companies. Not so.

It can be super simple and easy... I have (update: had) some SKU names like “small metal bin” “bracelet bin” “glass shelf” and “hanging” to describe where listed stuff is located.

Have you ever listed several similar items? You were worried about mixing them up so you put "1," "2," and "3" in the title. But that can look rather unprofessional... Now you can hide that and make it a SKU.

(You have 32 characters to name yours. Do not start with a space.)

Your SKU will show up before the title of your item when you process an order. I really like it.

If you would like to see yours when finding orders you have two options to access SKU locations.

Via your device (mobile or PC), where you can see it on the order page.

Print up an "order receipt" which may also work as a packing slip for your shop.

Having an inventory system is never a bad idea. This is especially true come tax time. (Ask me why I know.) I am in the process of adding a SKU system to my shop. How about you?

Shop score for those search terms
Sales in that specific search*
Sales in similar searches#
Clicks in that specific search*
Clicks in similar searches
Favorites in that specific search*
Favorites in similar searches
Details (context) of current search*